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Homemade Whipped Cream

When I was younger, my mom would always get excited when we head out to a restaurant and at dessert she realized we were being served fresh whipped cream. This caused me to assume that this was an extra special treat, and therefore had to be difficult to make. I was planning on making a fresh Pumpkin Pie for Thanksgiving and after looking around a few topping recipes, realized that all I needed was a couple of ingredients and a mixer. How could I resist?

I stumbled upon an Alton Brown version of whipped cream and knew it was the one. My only adjustments were adding in a bit more sugar and a splash of vanilla extract for extra flavor.

So the recipe is truly simple. I poured heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla extract into my stand mixing bowl, then hooked up the whisk attachment.

I turned the speed on high and let the mixer do all the work. I could see the liquid thickening almost immediately, and let the mixer continue for 2-3 minutes, until the cream had become stiffer and had increased significantly in size. It is important not to over beat it though; my mom warned me that I'd be on the way to creating homemade butter and that just wouldn't go well with pie.

Whipped perfection. Why have I been buying this in a can?!

So sweet. So perfect. Every time I get in the kitchen and make something I normally buy pre-packaged in store, I am blown away with the results (and often the simplicity). The whipped cream lasted for a few days, even though the recipe stated it would likely only last about 10 hours, and everyone who dove in told me they loved it. I'm all about vanilla extract in desserts, and the tiny bit of extra sugar combined with that just made the whipped cream unbelievably good. 3 minutes of time to make delicious, fresh whipped cream? There's no turning back from here.